Recent board interview stories?

Well, our management company lost parts of our application, so bring a completed copy of your application, so if the board wants to consult any pieces of it, you have it.

I was scared we'd be attacked on the financial front -- I'm a freelancer, and so my documentation was basically my former tax returns and a letter from my accountant stating that this year I would make a minimum of $XX dollars. As a result, I had constructed a package that was airtight on other financial points, like documentation of assets. Indeed, one of the board's questions was what we would do with our existing condo.

They wanted to know how we found the apartment (which was actually kind of a cute story) and why we wanted to live there. Our building does not allow sublets, so they wanted to hear that we wanted this to be our residence for a long time, and why this building.

Hubby and I do a decent job of lobbing the ball back and forth, and I think they were looking for that (Hey, these people aren't at each other's throats and going to get divorced tomorrow, are they?) as much as they were looking for any specific answers.

That was pretty much it, I think. I lost a contact lens (try not to do this) but hubby covered for me while a couple of board members offered me saline.

Oh, and dress up. Nice suit or dress, good shoes/watch/bag, not too much perfume/jewelry.

ali r.
{Ask the Agent: bit.ly/12afCB}

Oh, thank you so much. I'm terrified of the financial questions--of all the questions actually--and wish I could get the interview over with right now.

How long did it take them to tell you you were approved?

Thanks for the info, frontporch. We had a very pleasant interview with hardly any questions (we did get the "why did you pick this building?" question) and just found out we are approved. yes!

My experience with a number of buildings has really been that they want to know that you really care about your new home. Ask them questions – do they like the super, how long has he been there, what is staff turnover like, who has the best Chinese food in the neighborhood, do the neighbors tend to become friends, do people tend to stay in the building a long time, are there many families, etc? They care about the building – if they didn’t, they wouldn’t volunteer their time in a thankless and crappy task. Stay away from any complaints about your old building, any neighbor/super/lawsuit issues, etc!!!

They are usually nice – if a bit nosy – people and in my experience, the random horror stories are more urban myth than anything else. I’ve never been grilled about my finances but I’ve definitely had prodding questions essentially just to determine whether or not I will make a good long term neighbor.

Good luck!

Congratulations!

Thank you. The board obviously love the building as much as we do and it was wonderful to hear stories of the neighborhood and the building's history.

when i was on our coop board we would not interview anyone if we did not like their financials. this was to protect us in the event of a law suit. i would be curious to see how other boards handle this.

lostintransit, congrats.

I'm on my board. We have a member who always asks "What are your hobbies?" and when interviewees flounder, says, "We once had someone who wanted to do photography and put the chemicals down the drain." (If we really did, it's before my time.) Good hobbies are quiet and safe, obviously. We try to get a feel for how permissive parents are - eg, will the kids scrape the wallpaper off with their bikes, will they run screaming up and down the roof deck? We always are on the lookout for people who would make good board members - if they have financial or community experience, are friendly and like pitching in, that's a plus. A mother who will organize the Halloween party is a sought-after shareholder. Not all buildings are as friendly as ours, I guess -- we're rigorous on the financials before we agree to interview, so we can afford to be, I guess.